'Secular Stagnation' May Be for Real

The U.S. has an economic growth problem, and it started before the Great Recession. Between 1949 and 2000, Third Way's Jim Kessler calculates, the annual rate of growth exceeded 3% a total of 34 times—two years out of every three. During the eight Clinton years, growth reached 4% five times and fell below 3% only twice. Since 2000 growth has reached 3% just two times and did not reach 4% at all, even during 2003-07, the peak years of the recovery from the 2001 recession. Since the beginning of the recovery from the Great Recession of 2008-09, annual growth has not yet reached 3%, and 2014 looks to be no exception....